The Lady
by nyladnam04
Summary: For protecting their son, the Potters are given a gift: the chance to help him succeed. James chooses the girl that Lily will train. Unfortunately, the girl is stubborn, willful & doesn't trust the Lady in her mind.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: HP is not mine. This story is for fun, not profit.

A/N: I wanted this to be completely within cannon (the fact that Ginny is communicating with Lily Potter aside) and that Lily's personality would be more similar to Harry than to Ginny and James would be more like Ginny than Harry. Not the same, just similar. Coming up with a way for Lily to be able to identify with Harry and for it to be something I had never seen in fanfic before was a lot harder than I imagined.

A/N 2: Much thanks to Jenn for the beta work and the encouragement.

**Prologue**

31 October 1981

_"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"_

_"Stand aside you silly girl … stand aside now."_

_"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead –"_

But Lily's pleas were in vain as Voldemort raised his wand at her small son, his red eyes glowing with gleeful madness. Desperate, she stepped between the dark wizard and her baby, effectively blocking Harry from the line of spellfire.

_"Not Harry! Please … have mercy … have mercy… "_

Harry seemed to have picked up on his mother's fear as he began to cry, his terrified screams drowning out the words Voldemort was saying as he pointed his wand directly at Lily's heart. The last thing she heard as the poisonous green spell raced towards her was her child's anguished cry.

"MAMA!"

And then there was only darkness and silence.

In what seemed like years and mere moments, Lily realized she must exist and that in existing she must also be able to hear and see and feel. With that discovery, she opened her eyes and found herself to be naked, but a niggling feeling that there was another presence nearby made her feel shy. As soon as this thought hit her, she found herself to be clothed. The bright mist that swirled around began to clear slightly, rather, began to become shapes instead of mist. Lily could see the outline of a person, and as the mist fell away, she recognized the figure.

"James! James!" she cried, running towards him. James turned around, the worried lines disappearing from his face and he caught her in his arms and pulled her tight into his body. They embraced for long minutes before Lily pulled back and looked up into her husband's face.

"I couldn't protect him," she sobbed. "I tried! I stepped in between Harry and Voldemort. But he...he's going to kill our baby!" She broke down completely, clutching James's shoulders and burying her face into his neck. Lily could feel James's body shaking and knew he was crying as well.

"We need to find him, Lils. If he...if Voldemort...if. We need to find him." Lily had always envied the way James could focus on a task, his resolve hardening with whatever he needed to do no matter how he felt. With a nod, she pulled away, but continued to clutch James's hand. They had only gone three steps towards the centre of what Lily thought was some sort of station when they heard a voice behind them.

"You'll not find your child here. He is quite alive and well, and currently in the care of your half-giant friend." They whirled around to face a girl who looked to be in her early teens at first glance. However, she had such an ethereal look about her that she could have been anywhere from 14 to 400. Her wispy hair could have been a youthful blonde or a wizened white and the knowing looking in her clear blue eyes may have been innocence or worldliness.

Neither James nor Lily Potter had ever been ones to cower, but for once they were both struck speechless. Perhaps it was by design, for the girl or spirit or whatever she was didn't seem to want them to speak yet anyway.

"I died many years ago," she spoke, her voice soft and low, but it carried easily in the silent station. "I could _See_, you see." She smiled at what must have been a little joke to her. "I was, am, very powerful as a Seer. It drove me to madness in life and led me to an early grave. I couldn't control my power. Whenever I touched my mother, I saw her death in hundreds of different ways, but they were all because of me. When I touched my brothers, I saw unhappiness and loneliness and guilt and sorrow. I could do nothing to change it. But I would also see visions of the distant future, and I saw your son."

Here both James and Lily made to interrupt, but the girl continued to speak and they were unable to do anything but listen.

"I saw him and I saw many different outcomes, but so few paths. He is a curious boy, you see. I believe destiny has already been laid out before young Harry, carved out by others: Tom Riddle will forever try to destroy him; Albus Dumbledore will always try to mould him; his last remaining family will do nothing but ridicule and belittle him. The same people will always try to befriend him and his parents." Here she smiled benignly at the Potters. "In every possible outcome, they would always try to protect him. I have grown to care for the two of you deeply from watching you both die to save your son over and over throughout my life and in my death. I believe it is due to this connection I feel with the two of you that has led us all to be here and for me to give you a chance to help your son."

James had finally found his voice. "Harry's alive? Voldemort didn't try to kill him? What happened? Can we help Harry by going back?"

Lily could hardly dare to hope that she would be able to hold her tiny son again. In fact, she was already certain this wouldn't be. The girl had said something about Harry's last remaining family. As much as Lily wished it otherwise, she knew that this meant her sister had become Harry's guardian and she shuddered at knowing Petunia would never treat Harry as well as she would have treated Tuney's son if something had happened to her sister and brother-in-law.

The girl simply pointed to what looked like a stone basin on a pedestal and Lily followed James as he peered down into it. She had never seen anything like it before, but wasn't surprised that her husband had. Below them a scene played out, starting from when Voldemort had blasted open the door of the nursery. James choked out a sob when the Lily in the basin stepped between the monster and their son. Tears trickled down his face when her body crumbled to the floor.

Then Voldemort raised his wand once again at Harry, and their son's wails stopped. The intense look on the boy's face was all too familiar – he wore the same look whenever James put him on his toy broom or he tried to Summon one of his toys into his crib. Green eyes locked onto red and the room was filled suddenly with poisonous green light for the second time in a matter of seconds. There was a high pitched laugh and then a scream of pain. A loud blast quickly followed, nearly drowning out the pained cries coming from Harry's cot. Through all of the confusion, however, Lily could see a wisp of something leave the pile of robes that had been Voldemort's body and latch onto the lightning-shaped scar that was carved into her baby's forehead. A larger spirit-like being fled the room and then the scene went black.

Neither could speak as the shock was too great, but the girl once again required no words on their part.

"James Potter, for protecting your family in the face of certain death, I grant you two gifts. I cannot spare your friends the pain they will endure. I cannot save the werewolf from hardships and grief, nor can I keep an innocent man from relieving his worst memories for many years." She stopped as James let out an inarticulate, anguished cry.

"But who will protect Harry? Sirius can't go to...and Remus! I should never have thought...!" The relief that his son had survived was quickly swallowed, as James realized that Harry would be on his own, that Sirius and Remus wouldn't be there to protect his son and that Lily and his death had condemned everyone James cared about.

The girl waited patiently for James's grief to subside enough for her to continue. "I can't save them; however, I can give you the opportunity to do so." James's eyes lit up. "You won't be able to do much, but what you'll be able to do might make all the difference. You may visit your friends, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, in their dreams. It will help to keep Sirius Black sane while in Azkaban and Remus Lupin from succumbing to his despair and fears. One day they will both be able to help Harry, if you can first help them."

James nodded forcefully. "The second gift I will give you," she continued on, "is the opportunity to choose the girl that your wife will train. This girl will help Harry from afar until the end. Without this girl, it will become infinitely more difficult for your son to succeed. If he does not succeed, the world we have all left behind, but still care for will be plunged into a darkness that will last for hundreds of years.

"The girl must have the strength to withstand many trials and tribulations. Your son is not you, James. He will not see what is in front of him until it is nearly too late. But while he will not have the same awareness as you did as a boy, you will choose better than Lily."

The girl waved her hand and hundreds of stone basins circled around them. Lily could look down into some of them and saw the little girls. They ranged in age from infants to toddlers. _'How could you know who to pick when the little girls were this young?'_

Lily glared at the girl. It sounded to her that James would be picking out the one who could become her son's wife, and who better could pick the right companion for Harry than his mother?

"You would over-think it, dear."

'_Apparently, the girl could read minds as well,'_ Lily thought discourteously.

"I am a natural Legilimens, Lily dear." She gave a small titter, but her blank expression did not change. "Besides, you wear your thoughts and emotions on your face."

Lily tried not to show her surprise as she turned to watch her husband wander around the circle. He stopped and would watch some basins intensely, while others he would only glance into before continuing on. After what seemed like days, James finally came to a stop at a small basin on the far side of the circle. He spent several long minutes looking into it, smiling occasionally, and laughing outright on three different occasions.

"This one," he finally said, looking up at his wife and the girl.

"You have chosen well, James Potter." She waved her hand again and all of the basins disappeared. A sort of portal appeared in front of them all, giving Lily a large view of a tiny baby girl with wisps of red hair. Several little red-headed boys would race by her occasionally. While Lily admitted the baby girl was very pretty, she couldn't understand what would make James pick this girl over any other.

"I counted five boys," James said. "I figure if that little girl can handle five brothers,"

"Six," the girl interrupted.

"Oh, well, six then. Anyway, if she can handle six brothers, she'll have the strength and fortitude to put up with whatever Harry throws her way." He wrapped his arms around his wife and grinned mischievously down at her. "Besides, she's a red-head," he said this matter-of-factly, as though that settled the matter.

"Lily Potter, your gift for giving your life for your son's and, in doing so, invoking a protection that will ensure he will remain safe enough to meet his destiny, is to train the girl that will help young Harry. I would like you to meet your apprentice, Ginevra Weasley."

From that day forward, Lily began to lay the groundwork that would precede her training of the young red-headed girl. As the years went by, she couldn't help but be pleased with the girl that her husband had selected. She'd never tell him that, however. To the end of time, she would be convinced that he had simply picked the girl with the brightest red hair (and most stubborn temper) he could find.

A/N3: This was written for the SIYE "Girl Talk" Challenge. It is "completed" on that site, but I will be changing the last chapter so that the ending isn't so rushed, which will probably make it at least another chapter longer. I WILL be taking my time posting this here so that I can post the extended final chapter(s).


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: HP is not mine. This story is for fun, not profit.

A/N: This chapter comes with a warning of abuse within the Dursley home.

A/N 2: Much thanks to Jenn for the beta work and the encouragement.

**Chapter 1**

1 November 1981 – 17 September 1989

Lily began her work with Ginny Weasley moments after James had selected the tiny girl. That first year, she was nothing more than a presence, really. But, the baby became comfortable with Lily and the older witch was able to ease her broken heart somewhat.

As much as she came to love Ginny, she missed her precious Harry with all of her being. There were times when, guiltily, she almost wished her son had perished with them so that they could all still be together. It was painful to watch the neglect their son grew up with; Lily couldn't honestly claim that her sister was "raising" Harry. Neither she nor James were allowed to visit Harry in the way they could visit Ginny, Remus and Sirius. The girl forbid it. They tried every trick in the book to persuade her otherwise, but she simply claimed it would be disastrous.

It was after James convinced Lily to sneak into Harry's dreams with him one night when their little boy was three that convinced the Potters that the girl really did _know_ things.

By this time, both James and Lily were very experienced in visiting dreams and were beginning to learn how to visit people when they were awake as well. The stone basins, Ineosieves, allowed them to enter a selected person's dreams with relative ease. Entering their conscious mind was infinitely more difficult as most people had natural mental protections.

When they weren't "working" by speaking in dreams to Sirius, Remus or Ginny, they would watch Harry in an Ineosieve. After one particularly horrid day when Harry was sent to bed with no dinner and hands that were sore from trying to make his little fingers do the work that his aunt and uncle demanded of him, they knew they had to do something.

They waited until the girl was distracted with her visions and then entered the Ineosieve directly into their son's dreams. Lily knew right away why it had been a terrible idea. Instead of simply talking to Harry, memories swirled around them all. The boy in the dream watched some of the disjointed memories before he turned betrayed eyes on his parents.

"You weft me! Why'd you go 'way?" He tried to hug them, but even in his dreams, James and Lily were as insubstantial as ghosts. "Miss you! Wuv you! I want my mummy and daddy back!"

Then they watched in horror as one of the memories came close and then flashed bright, filling Harry's young mind. All three were forced to watch the boy's jagged memory of the night his parents had died. The flash of green and evil laughter were the last thing James and Lily knew before they were forcibly ejected. They landed back in their station, peering down at Harry as he awoke screaming.

"Calamity." Neither bothered to acknowledge the girl's sorrowful voice; they knew they had made their son's life worse rather than better. All three watched as Vernon Dursley came barging into the small bedroom Harry had been given and grabbed the toddler by his little arm. The large man yelled about "miscreants disturbing hard-working people" before he was silenced by the child's words.

"Where my mummy and daddy? Dey were here! I saw dem! Dey wuv me! I want my mummy and daddy, NOW!" For the first time in his young life, Harry Potter threw a temper tantrum. It almost rivalled his cousin's.

He paid dearly for it as well. That was the night Harry was removed from the small bedroom and into the cupboard under the stairs. Sadly, this wasn't the worst of it. The small wizard started to have nightmares about that terrible night. For a short while, he was completely convinced his parents were still alive and would ask questions incessantly until one day, Vernon had enough and back-handed the child across his face. It never happened again, but Harry never asked any questions, either.

Petunia finally did give him an answer, though it was vague. "If your parents had been responsible, they wouldn't have died. They shouldn't have hung around _that_ crowd. It's their own fault they are dead and we got landed with _you_."

Of course, Marge Dursley was present when this was explained to Harry and she took it to mean that James and Lily had been into drugs and alcohol and were killed in an accident that was their fault. Vernon encouraged this story and Petunia didn't do anything to contradict it.

Harry, however never seemed to really believe it. This was one of the few shining bits of hope his parents had whenever they would watch their precious son.

While Harry was learning to cope with the hand he had been dealt, James was desperately trying to keep Sirius sane and Remus from despair. It was a monumental task, but Lily's husband could be very focused when determined and he was nothing _but_ determined to see his two best friends reunited.

Lily, on the other hand, was learning that training Ginny wasn't as easy as she had thought it would be. The girl was mischievous and playful, reminding her quite a bit of James. But she was also suspicious by nature (she'd have to be to survive growing up with her twin brothers), which forcefully reminded Lily of both Harry and her childhood friend, Severus. Awake, the girl refused to try anything that Lily tried to teach her, since she didn't know why she was dreaming about "training."

Even in her dreams, dreams she had been having since she was an infant, Ginny would question why Lily was telling her the benefits of learning what seemed like harmless hexes or how to focus on her magic to make herself more powerful. Lily tried to give vague answers ('_I'm your guardian angel.' 'What's an angel? And why do I need guarding?')_, but they never really appeased the little red-head. It irked the child to no end that Lily refused to tell her the name of the "lady in her head" as Ginny had finally dubbed her.

The girl did consent to talk with Lily every time the older red-head visited her dreams, always trying to understand _why_ the "lady" was there. When Ginny was eight, however, the girl had had enough.

"What is all of this for? Why do you want to train me?" Really the girl was far too shrewd.

"I can't tell you. I only know what might happen and that you could be a big help. I can't tell you why, or it could ruin everything." This was a lie. Lily refused to tell Ginny partly because she didn't want to scare the poor girl, but mostly because she was well aware of the girl's crush on her son. Just because James was convinced that Harry would fall in love with Ginny didn't mean that her son would. Lily wasn't even sure her boy would recognize or welcome any sort of affection by now and didn't want to get the little witch's hopes up.

"I don't have any proof that what you're trying to _teach_ me," the girl sneered. "Will even help me. I've never heard my brothers talking about focusing on their magic. Only really great wizards like Dumbledore can do wandless magic! Mum says that's only little things like lighting a candle or Summoning his socks." She folded her arms across her chest. "Prove it."

Lily sighed. _'If Harry ever does fall in love with Ginny, they will be evenly matched, at least. I don't think I've ever seen two more stubborn, obstinate children in my life.'_ Just the previous night she had watched Harry try to convince his uncle, yet again, that mowing the lawn every day would damage the grass. It was an effort in futility and it wasn't done because Harry didn't want to mow the lawn (he actually seemed to enjoy it), but to anger his uncle. He liked to watch the colours change on the man's face.

She thought for a moment, choosing her words carefully. The ethereal girl had taught Lily and James quite a lot about magic, things that the living either knew instinctively or never learned. Focusing on one's magic was one of those things. Even telling Ginny about it could be dangerous, but the spirit girl had agreed that the little red-head was strong enough to handle it. However, they hadn't planned on Ginny attempting to really do anything until she had a wand. But at this moment, Lily gambled. If Ginny lost her trust in Lily, she wouldn't be able to continue training her, and where would that leave them?

"Alright, if you think you are ready, tomorrow give it a try. Focus on your magic for a few minutes until you can feel it and then try to levitate something light. A leaf or a flower petal would be good. But you'll have to really focus on your magic," she told the girl sternly. "No interruptions, because you'll lose your focus and anything could happen."

Ginny agreed, and Lily could feel the morning approaching, so she pulled out of the girl's mind and settled down to watch what she would do from outside the Ineosieve.

17 September 1989

Perhaps the lady in her head was right. Perhaps she could become powerful if she practiced. Powerful enough that she could be friends with Harry Potter, because surely he wouldn't want to be with someone who couldn't even levitate a garden gnome.

Ginny sat and focused like the lady had told her for years. She could feel something, her magic, maybe? It was electrifying and thrilling, and then it felt as though it were bubbling to escape her.

She concentrated with all of her might on making the Wellington in front of her move to the right and she thought she saw it tilt, if she focused just a bit more...

"Ginny! What you are doin...AHHHHH!"

Ron touched her shoulder and startled Ginny. Her focus shifted to what had caused her fear, and her magic leapt out to protect her. Ron was thrown backwards, hitting the garden wall with a sickening thud.

Her mum came racing out at Ginny's screams, but all that Ginny could think of was that she had killed her best friend.

Even hours later, after she knew very well that Ron was okay (he was eating his third helping of tart, after all, and beating Percy for the fifth time that night in chess), she was convinced that the lady in her head must be evil.

Power could be used to hurt and Ginny definitely didn't want to hurt anyone ever again. Besides, the lady tried to tell her not to fly at night ("It's far too dangerous and a waste of time!"), that she shouldn't prank the twins back after they had turned her hair purple ("You could get into serious trouble using underage magic and, besides, seeking revenge all the time could make you a very bitter person."), and she thought that her crush on the Boy-Who-Lived was ridiculous ("He's just a boy, for Merlin's sake, not some fairy tale hero!"). Why should Ginny listen to _her_?


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: HP is not mine. This story is for fun, not profit.

A/N: Much thanks to Jenn for the beta work and the encouragement.

**Chapter 2**

23 May 1990

To the dead, time really mattered little. While it was different for the Potters and their guide, as they had come to call the girl, due to how much time they spent communicating with the living, days, weeks, months and years didn't mean much in their little station. The only time when time meant anything was when they were "working."

After the disastrous episode when Ginny had accidently injured her brother, the red-head girl refused to listen any longer to Lily. Lily was able to enter the girl's dreams still, but the cold reception she received made her decide she needed to step away until Ginny was more mature and capable of handling the truth. She had been in Ginny's mind, after all, and knew for a fact that the child was not yet able to understand what her training really meant.

Instead of focusing on Ginny, Lily began to assist James in his monumental task. Sirius had been easy for James to work with; he had always been a pragmatic man, after all. His opinion was that anything that kept him from losing his sanity while he sat surrounded by Dementors was perfectly fine and who was he to question the how's and why's?

Remus, however, was much more difficult. He was guilt-ridden over his friends' deaths. First reason being, because he had sensed changes among the four friends years before, but had never said anything because he had not been able to pinpoint what the changes were. Hindsight was twenty-twenty; apparently Sirius had been going dark under their very noses. Second, because he had been acting more secretive himself due to the undercover work he had been doing for the Order.

'_If only I had been open with them.'_ His thoughts were clear to James and Lily in his dreams. _'They may have trusted me rather than Sirius. I would have been glad to die to protect them.'_

This was not exactly a happy thing to know that their friend was thinking. Remus had always been wary of any good fortune; he doubted that his friends would want to remain his friends for many years. It had been Lily who had finally convinced him that he was worth friendship. After all, if she could be friends with Severus Snape, befriending a werewolf was nothing. That's how James had put it, anyway.

So she began to enter Remus' dreams and converse lightly with him about things of a studious nature. While they had both excelled in different areas: Lily in Charms and Potions, while Remus had been top of the class in History and second only to Sirius in Defence Against the Dark Arts, both were more scholarly by nature. He took to Lily's gently prompting that he continue his studies and apply for tutoring positions better than he had to James's reminiscing. It had bothered James that this was case, mostly because he believed that Remus had fancied Lily.

After some time, however, James had finally discovered the sort of woman Remus was inclined toward and he spent a great deal of time laughing about it inside Remus' dreams and outside of them. This is what finally led Remus to realize that his dreams weren't from his own mind.

"...and here we were, all this time, believing that either there just weren't sophisticated enough witches in Hogwarts, or that you didn't prefer girls!" Both James and Lily were in Remus' dream, speaking with the werewolf. Remus was more relaxed than he had been in years, mostly due to the dreams, but also due in part to a successful date with a rather...spunky young woman. Lily couldn't understand why she had so many piercings and tattoos, but Remus seemed to find them attractive.

"Bugger! Peter was convinced you'd only love another werewolf and Sirius thought you had a thing for McGonagall during fifth year!" James was laughing so hard that Lily thought he might fall to the floor, but after chuckling initially, Remus' face took on a look of shocked comprehension. Lily quickly extracted herself, landing gracefully on her feet outside of the Ineosieve, but James didn't notice the warning signs of their living person waking up. He was painfully ejected as Remus awoke with a start.

"Those aren't normal dreams!" They watched him exclaim. Lily nodded at James, who rubbed his backside and then nodded back. With a deep breath, she plunged back into the Ineosieve and locked eyes with Remus. This was the part that made conversing with a conscious person so difficult; they had to know and acknowledge her presence. Only Sirius had done it so far. He'd been convinced of his own insanity at the time, so he hadn't really questioned it.

James landed beside Lily and Remus swung astonished eyes to his old friend. He was sitting up in his bed, but scrambled backwards until he was against the wall. "B-b-but h-how are you h-h-here?"

Lily sighed and looked at James. He was far better at explaining things than she was when it came to something this sensitive.

"Remus, mate, it really is Prongs and Lils. We're not here to scare you," James's eyes narrowed at the dismayed face in front of him. "Or to cause you any grief or _guilt."_ He put extra emphasis on the last word.

"Moony, we're here to ask you to stop feeling guilty. We're here because death doesn't make dead stop caring for their living friends any more than it makes the living stop caring for the dead. We're worried about you." He paused for a moment, but seemed to decide it was not the time for bringing up Sirius's innocence. "That is one reason why we're here and have been visiting you for nearly ten years. The other reason is that one day, you'll be able to help our son."

He looked at Lily and nodded, seeming to feel that this was Lily's area of expertise. Lily felt wholly inadequate. A lecture on the merits of fresh herbs over dried when creating healing potions? No problem. Arguing over the equal rights of all creatures in the magical community? She wouldn't bat an eye. Sticking up for someone being bullied by a toerag? Just point the toerag out! But when it came to things she was unsure of herself, Lily found that she was at a loss for words. Such was the case when she was confronted with trying to explain what they were doing to Remus.

"I...er...um...It's really...Well, in the interest of...I can't really...I'm not sure...AH!" She growled and then snorted and before turning to face her husband with clenched teeth, only to find him chuckling at her. "You do it then, if you're so smart!"

The snort of laughter from the bed made her whirl around to face Remus, an angry retort dying when she saw how relaxed he had become. When he finally stopped laughing, he looked at the two people in front of him with slightly misty eyes.

"It really is you, isn't it? That's exactly how Lily reacted any time Professor McGonagall would ask her, er, you, to explain something in Transfiguration." And then Lily understood. James had been trying to prove it was really them, not put Lily on the spot. After that, James took over explaining why Harry was special, without being too specific, and some of what he and Lily were doing. He left out Sirius and the name of the girl that Lily was supposed to be training, as well as the full prophecy. Remus, being the intelligent man that he was, didn't need all of the information to make the connections.

Instead, he began that following morning to apply himself with all his capabilities at learning everything he could about Defence Against the Dark Arts and gaining the credentials he needed to become a professor. It seemed to him, and to the Potters, that using Remus' natural gift of teaching to train Harry was the best thing the werewolf could do.

25 August 1992

Ginny awoke with a start, gasping for breath. The Lady had visited her again last night, begging Ginny to let her back into her life. The eleven year old would have none of it, of course. She still had nightmares about Ron hurtling through the air and hitting the garden wall. At night, however, the thunk was a very wet and crunching sound, and Ron stared up at her with glassy blue eyes. _'No, I can't trust her,'_ she thought.

But tonight, something had struck her oddly about the Lady. There was something familiar about her that Ginny had never noticed before. There were a few things, like her high cheek bones, her manner of speaking (quiet until she became worried or angry, and then louder and with hand gestures) and how she held herself. Ginny couldn't think of why these things stuck out at her, but after a few moments of comparing the Lady to everyone she could think of, she shrugged and gave up.

With a little happy sigh, she remembered her new diary. _'Perhaps if I tell Tom he'll be able to help me remember what I'm missing.'_

Tom, however, was just as stumped as she was. He was very interested in her dreams of the Lady, asking Ginny all kinds of questions. She was a little taken aback by this, at first. After all, either the Lady was some sort of evil being that had tried to manipulate Ginny into hurting her brother, but couldn't hurt anyone herself, or she was a figment of Ginny's own imagination. She had wondered, often, if she had dreamt up the Lady as what she wished she could look like. The Lady, though a red-head, had not one freckle and her blush was only a light, pink tinge, rather than a bright red beacon. Her hair was simply beautiful, unlike the unruly, horrid colour Ginny had been born with.

But her hesitancy quickly faded and she poured all of her memories and thoughts about the Lady and the dreams into her diary, watching them soak up and being confident that Tom would never betray her.

Unlike the Lady, he was trustworthy.


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: HP is not mine. This story is for fun, not profit.

A/N: Much thanks to Jenn for the beta work and the encouragement.

**Chapter 3**

29 May 1993

"...milk for the base, slowly stirring anticlockwise five times until the milk is nearly ready to boil. Then had five milligrams of finely ground chamomile. Continue to stir anticlockwise, though add one clockwise stir after every third anticlockwise one. After twenty stirs, let the mixture simmer and add the chopped mint leaves, no less than five full leaves for a mild concoction, up to twenty full leaves for a more potent version of the potion. The mild version is best for those with medical conditions that may require potions or when you want the recipient to be calm, but alert. The potent version will relax a person to the point of sleep in all but the most agitated. Once the mint is added, reduce heat so that the potion will stay warm, but not heat any further. Let it sit for twenty minutes, and then stir clockwise twice. Add four full strands of unicorn hair and increase heat until the potion boils. Allow it to boil for one full minute, and then remove immediately from the heat source. Cover and let the potion sit at room temperature for one hour. Use immediately or store at no more than 6 degrees Celsius."

Reciting the directions for a Calming Draught was the best Lily could do. Being dead, technically, she didn't need a Calming Draught, but she wanted one very badly. Not even the previous year, when her son had faced the spectral form of Voldemort had she been this anxious, this nervous, this _terrified_.

She, James and their guide watched the scene below them in a state of panic, though their guide wasn't as anxious as the Potters. Lily wondered, briefly, if she had seen how this would, or could, turn out.

After all of this time, Lily still didn't know the girl's name, but she had grown to respect her immensely. The girl would simultaneously see several different possible outcomes of a single event. She kept them inside of a Pensieve so that she could watch them and keep track of each vision.

A Pensieve, Lily had learned, was different from an Ineosieve. While the Ineosieve allowed someone to enter into a person's dreams or life, a Pensieve allowed a person to view memories in an objective manner. One big difference between them, however, was that a Pensieve was rare amongst the living, but there were some. Ineosieves, on the other hand, could only be used by the dead and were not even known about amongst the living.

All year long, Lily had tried and failed to enter Ginny's dreams. Someone else had gained an entrance into the girl's mind and was quite adept at keeping intruders out, much to Lily's dismay. Only once had Lily made it through the foreign barriers. What she had witnessed had scared her horribly. A handsome, dark haired young man had been speaking intimately with Ginny in the familiar meadow scene that was almost always present in the girl's mind. Handsome and charming though he was, Lily could sense his sinister intentions. But she had been unable to warn the red-head. Ginny was still convinced that Lily had been trying to harm the girl's family, but for some reason had grown to trust this young man. With a wave of his hand, the young man had forced Lily out, a cruel smile on his face all the while.

It had been a nail-biting year, to be sure. James had attempted to enter Harry's dreams twice in the hopes of giving their son anything that might tip him off to what was happening, but, surprisingly, he was locked out of Harry's mind as effectively as Lily was from Ginny. In desperation, they had entered the mind of their son's Muggleborn friend (disguising themselves, of course).

Hermione had completely discounted her dreams at first. While Lily appreciated the girl's studious nature and identified strongly with her, there were times she wanted to shake the girl. The younger Muggleborn witch was very set in following the rules and not varying from the tried-and-true methods. _'Not even taking into account that new discoveries require a creative process,'_ Lily found herself thinking. _'The fantastical nature of magic forces one raised by Muggles to realize a new logic where it seems almost anything is possible if you have enough nerve.'_

Thankfully, Hermione had made the connection and it saved the life of herself and another witch and Harry had realized there was a pattern all on his own. Lily briefly wondered if they could persuade Harry to take Ancient Runes in his third year since he seemed to have a knack for pattern recognition, but quickly dismissed the idea. They had no way of getting such an idea to him that wasn't suspicious.

'_Let's make sure he survives the end of his second year before we start thinking about his third,'_ she thought as she peered back into the Ineosieve. Below her, Harry had just hissed something at the carved snakes that caused them to open and admit him into the Chamber. The three watching the scene could see what awaited him, but James and Lily only knew that something (or someone) had forced Ginny into the Chamber and that she appeared to be dead. Only the tiny fluttering of her eyelashes and Lily's gut feeling let them know that the young witch was still alive.

"_Ginny!"_

They watched as Harry ran to her, dropping his wand as he knelt beside her.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! PICK UP YOUR WAND, YOU IDI-"

"JAMES POTTER! DON'T YELL AT YOUR SON OR CALL HIM NAMES!"

"Er, yes, of course dear."

"_Ginny – don't be dead – please don't be dead –" _Harry attempted to rouse her by shaking her shoulders, but it only made Ginny look worse. Her head rolled around and she seemed to look even paler, if that was possible.

"_Ginny, please wake up." _He was getting desperate. If the situation wasn't so dire, Lily imagined her husband would be betting that Harry would try bribing Ginny into being okay by telling her he'd date her if she woke up.

But instead, a voice that raised the hair on the back of her neck and sent a chill down Lily's spine spoke. She couldn't see the person, but she recognized that voice instantly, younger though it sounded.

"_She won't wake."_

"Voldemort," Lily breathed, clutching one hand to her chest, while the other covered her mouth in horror. James looked at her in shock, before leaning further over the Ineosieve in an attempt to see more. They watched as the young man, Tom Riddle, explained what he had done to Ginny and who he was to their stunned son. When the memory Riddle called forth the Basilisk, the Potters looked away instinctively. That's when a thought struck Lily.

'_Riddle is trying to steal Ginny's soul, but he isn't in her mind right now!'_ Without taking a moment to think things through, Lily dove past James and into the Ineosieve, entering Ginny's mind almost immediately. The emptiness almost broke her heart.

Instead of blackness, which is what Lily expected to find in the mind of someone unconscious, she was surrounded by brilliant whiteness. Only in the very centre was there any colour, but even that was drastically muted and more grey than actual colour. Even Ginny's red hair was subdued. Lily thought it was what Ginny's hair would look like after fifty or sixty years, but it was terrifying to see on an eleven year old girl. The young Gryffindor sat, huddled up in the last bit of meadow that Lily recognized from her previous visits with the girl.

Still acting on instinct, Lily rushed forward and grabbed onto the bit of meadow that hadn't bled away into whiteness. Ginny looked up at her with deadened eyes.

"Come to gloat, Lady?" Even her voice was muffled and all of the fight seemed to have left the normally vivacious girl.

"No. I'm here to help you hold on until Har..." Lily took a deep breath. "Until my son can kill the Basilisk and save you."

Ginny looked at Lily with a questioning look. "Who is your son and why would anyone want to save me?"

"First of all," Lily grunted while giving a rather vicious yank on the bit of meadow she was holding and pulling back a little bit more that had disappeared in the whiteness. "After all of this is over, you and I need to have a serious discussion about your current lack of self-esteem. As to why anyone would want to save you, your family loves you very much. My son knows this and would, is, risking his life because he doesn't want your family to have the pain of losing each other. Besides, he's Harry Potter. Saving the day is what he does. Would you mind terribly asking him to find a safer hobby for me? I'm not cut out to watch him battle evil wizards and Basilisks and who knows what else. He may try to take on a werewolf next year for goodness sake!"

It did the trick. Ginny was shocked into perking up a bit at the mention of Harry Potter rescuing her. "He's really here?" she whispered, while reaching down to grab another bit of meadow and successfully stopping it from disappearing.

Lily nodded. Ginny's eyes took on a hard, blazing look, though it was only the determination in her face that made her look less lifeless. "When all this is over, you and I are going to have a serious discussion about who you are and why you keep visiting me. No more dodging or." She gritted her teeth. "Lies."

With a curt nod, Lily acknowledged the jab. Ginny didn't believe that Harry was really the Lady's son, but her interest was piqued and the thought that Harry was there had driven her into action.

They had made a little bit of progress. Instead of the full square metre of meadow Ginny had been huddled in when Lily had entered her mind, there was now almost three square metres. Then it happened. For one split second, colour burst into Ginny's mind and then Lily was thrown forcefully out. James caught her before she fell to the floor beside the Ineosieve, his wide smile confirmation that their son had not only survived, but had succeeded.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: HP is not mine. This story is for fun, not profit.

A/N: Much thanks to Jenn for the beta work and the encouragement.

A/N2: Because I forgot to mention this at the beginning of the correct chapters...Four lines in the begining of the Prologue are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (American paperback edition), Chapter Nine: Grim Defeat, page 179. Three lines in the middle of Chapter 3 (any time Harry or Riddle speak) are direct quotes from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (American paperback edition), Chapter Seventeen: The Heir of Slytherin, page 307. I apolgize for not including this information in the correct chapters.

**Chapter 4**

31 May 1993

The hospital wing was a bloody nightmare; there was no doubt about it. Ginny couldn't wait to be released.

'_On the other hand, I could have been sent home with Mum and that would have been so much worse,'_ she thought to herself while counting how many green tiles there were on the ceiling compared to white ones. She already knew there were 847 blue tiles (thought it might be 853, as one sconce really blocked the back corner of the ceiling).

Twelve hours of rest, a mug of hot chocolate and a talk with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall had made all of the difference in the world. For the first time in months, Ginny Weasley felt like Ginny Weasley again. It was as though Tom had hidden the real Ginny away and now she had made her way out into the sunshine. She shuddered slightly at that, but chose not to dwell on it. It was not that someone had cast a spell on her and everything was completely fine – if the previous evening was any indication, she'd be having horrific nightmares for awhile. But, her life was her own again, and she was relishing it.

At green tile 732, Madam Pomfrey appeared by Ginny's head with a potion she recognized would make her sleep. Her mum was fond of using this potion when she or her brothers were ill or injured. Ginny drank it without protest (wouldn't have done any good anyway), and soon fell asleep. She was unsurprised to find the Lady waiting for her.

She was, however, surprised to find a tall man with unruly black hair and a charming grin, sitting next to the Lady in the meadow in her mind. It didn't take an Unspeakable to figure out that this man was either supposed to be an older Harry, or Harry's father. Considering that the huge smile looked comfortable on the man's face, but seemed absolutely foreign on someone who resembled her brother's best friend so closely, Ginny guessed this was James Potter or was someone trying to trick Ginny into believing he was James Potter.

"Who are you, and what do you want?" She doubted even her mum would scold over her rudeness towards people who had entered her mind.

The man's smile changed slightly, becoming a smirk that was still somehow charming. It made Ginny a little wary, but she was impressed in spite of herself. It was a look that clearly stated the man was up to something, but it would probably get him or someone near him in trouble – if they were caught.

"Another impertinent red-head, dear," he chuckled. "I don't think even you were that cheeky."

The Lady mumbled something that Ginny couldn't hear, but the man apparently found it to be extremely funny. He threw his head back and laughed heartily. Once he calmed down, he leaned back onto his hands and gave Ginny a look that plainly stated he was contemplating her. Her gave another big smile and finally broke the silence.

"Actually, I think Miss Weasley is less insolent than you, Lily, or even our son. Of course, since you and Harry are two of the most insolent people I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, that really isn't much of a compliment for the young lady, here."

He turned to the woman, Lily he had called her, and gave her a challenging smirk. "I blame you for all of his detentions. He gets them for back-talking. He takes after you in that, I think, since cheek is not the way to charm McGonagall into a lesser sentence. Why is it the two of you must always challenge anyone with authority?" The man chuckled again before standing and taking a step towards Ginny with his right hand outstretched. Ginny reached out and shook his hand before she could think better of it, but stepped back quickly as though burned. His smile never faltered.

"I'm guessing that you've got a pretty good idea of who I am." He raised his eyebrows when Ginny crossed her arms over her chest. "My name is James Potter."

"I know who you are trying to make me think you are," she bit out angrily. "Who are you really?"

Instead of answering her outright, like her brothers would have done, all indignant and raging, the man simply looked at her, cocking his head to the side. "You know, you're a rather resourceful young woman. I've been impressed at some of the things you've accomplished without your brothers, especially the twins." Here he gave her a huge grin. "Finding out. Ever heard of the Marauders?"

The sudden change in subject threw Ginny off balance for a second, but she nodded anyway. _'How does he know about the map I found in the twins' room?'_

"Remember the names?" She nodded slowly in response again. "I'm one of them. Can you guess which one?"

Before Ginny had a chance to ask how she was supposed to guess, the man changed, his limbs becoming slender and his face elongating. It happened so quickly that if she had blinked, she would have missed the man transforming into a beautiful stag. In that instant, she believed the man, James. Stags were noble creatures, trustworthy, prideful, yes, but gentle too.

"Prongs," she whispered, reaching out to touch his velvety nose. She looked up and the Lady, Lily, had moved to stand beside Prongs, laying a hand gently on his back. The older witch waved her wand and a doe burst forth. It nuzzled Ginny's ear, before rubbing its cheek against the cheek of the stag. Then it disappeared. A moment later, Prongs turned back into James.

"Why didn't you tell me?" The awe that Ginny felt standing in the presence of the Potters, Harry's parents, was quickly swallowed up by her hurt and embarrassment. Lily, at least, knew that Ginny fancied their son!

Lily fidgeted a little. It was a subtle shifting of her weight and it forcibly reminded Ginny of Harry. With the evidence staring Ginny in the face, it was obvious now that the reason the Lady, Lily, had seemed familiar was because Harry did resemble her slightly. The eyes, of course, but the cheekbones as well, and how they expressed themselves was remarkably similar.

"I didn't want you to be overwhelmed when you were younger by telling you why I was visiting you. Besides, I, er, didn't want to, uh..." she trailed off to glare at her husband, who seemed to find her stammering humorous.

"What she means is that you are like me and Harry is like Lily. I knew I was in love with Lily the moment that I met her." He nodded knowingly at Ginny, but didn't state the obvious. "Lily, on the other hand, only noticed me because I was always showing off in front of her." He blushed and ducked his head.

"She was very focused on her studies and her friends and didn't have time for a toerag like me." He patted Ginny's hand. She knew she hadn't been able to keep the dismayed look off of her face. "Harry's just too caught up in everything going on around him to know what is in front of him, Ginny. One day he'll catch up. Hopefully, earlier than his mother."

Ginny couldn't help but giggle at the indignant look on Lily's face.

"Harry's going to need your help. Voldemort will be back." Lily smiled an actual wide smile when Ginny didn't gasp at the name. "Good girl. You faced him, stood up to him and survived. It is your right and responsibility to call him by name. Better yet, call him Tom. It belittles him, and it's not nearly as grand sounding."

Soon after that, James left. Now that Ginny truly understood why Lily was in her mind, she was focused on learning anything the older witch could teach her. Harry would need her help, and she was determined to be there for him. James had implied that his son would fall in love with her one day, though Lily was quick to remind her that they didn't know the future and to not get her hopes up.

But she had the blessing of Harry's parents. Perhaps they could give her some insight on how to make him notice her while she learned a hex that sounded _very_ interesting.

9 June 1993

Either Ginny hadn't yet noticed that Lily had entered the girl's mind or she was deliberately ignoring the older witch. With Ginny Weasley, it was probably the latter.

Instead of making noise to make her presence known, Lily sat down in the soft grass and observed the little red-head and her surroundings. This place was idealized version of a meadow. It was always sunny and warm, with a light breeze. The heather was as soft as goose down, the flowers were brilliant colours and the tree in the distance supported a swing at the absolute perfect height for jumping from without breaking an ankle.

Deciding to try a different approach today, Lily lay back and imagined herself in Muggle clothing like she had worn during her summers at home – a plain shirt and a pair of denim shorts. The sandals she quickly kicked off to allow herself the chance to feel the grass under her feet once more. She could be patient.

She imagined James would laugh at her claim that she could be patient. _'Only with a potion, he would say. Well, Ginny is like a potion. Now I know all of the ingredients I needed and realized that I had nearly waited too long to add them. I don't want to stir anything up too quickly, or add too much heat to it or everything might explode in my face!'_

Lily had just closed her eyes and had truly begun to enjoy lying in the meadow when she heard footsteps beside her. She didn't open her eyes, but waited, trying hard not to tap her feet or drum her fingers. Just when Lily was certain she couldn't stay still any longer, she heard Ginny sit down beside her. The girl let out a beleaguered sigh.

"Why didn't you just tell me you were Harry's mum?" Lily sat up in surprise. Out of anything Ginny could have asked, this wasn't a question she had expected since she felt she'd already answered it.

Before Lily could respond, Ginny spoke again. "I mean, don't you think it would have been less likely I would have let T-Tom into my head if I had trusted you?" The girl was looking down at her fingers which were busy pulling bits of grass up.

It was like being slapped in the face. The force of those words, the implication that it was Lily's fault that Ginny had been the victim of that monster, sucked the breath from the older witch's chest. Metaphorically speaking, of course.

"You're right. I should have...I mean, why would you trust me? I never gave you any reason to, and I'm sure Vol-, er, Tom seemed completely trustworthy. If only I'd have..." But Lily was rudely cut off by Ginny's quiet giggles. It was only the tears streaming down the girl's face that kept Lily from getting indignant.

"Mr. Potter,"

"James," Lily corrected out of habit.

"James is right. You are a lot like Harry." Ginny gave a small, sad smile to Lily's left elbow. "Ever since he rescued me, he's been saying how he should have known or should have been nicer to me." She shook her head. "It wouldn't have helped. Things changed the moment I wrote in that diary. I doubt things would have been much different even if I had trusted you. Besides, I think I was able to fight Tom off longer because of the things you had taught me. When I started fighting back, I'd focus on my magic. I couldn't do it for very long, but he couldn't fight against me for more than a short while anyway. Maybe things wouldn't have been so bad or gone as far if I'd have trusted you. But if you had been in my head...he might have hurt you too."

This was all said very fast. It didn't make much sense to Lily as Ginny kept contradicting herself. Before she'd had a chance to figure out what had been said, however, Ginny whispered something that would change everything.

"I've had a crush on Harry Potter forever, but I always wanted to be like Lily Potter, you. You're brave and beautiful and perfect, and I'm none of those things."

Those words gave Lily Potter the final, most important ingredients to earning Ginny Weasley's trust.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: HP is not mine. This story is for fun, not profit.

A/N: Much thanks to Jenn for the beta work and the encouragement.

A/N2: This chapter is a little different. I never inteded this to be an actual part of the fic, but decided it was needed to secure Ginny's trust. Without this, Ginny would have eventually trusted Lily, but it would have taken years. The entire thing was a backstory in my head to answer the question: If Ginny is like James and Harry is like Lily, what happened in Lily's life to make her like that? It was also to give an answer to another question (not one terribly important to the story, but to me) as to why Petunia is the way she is. After this chapter, posting may slow down to every couple of weeks to a month as I am still working on the last couple of chapters.

**Chapter 5**

9 June 1993

Ginny seemed to sense that Lily was readying herself to speak about something difficult, because the young girl simply sat quietly, tugging a few blades of grass out absentmindedly. It wasn't something easy for Lily to share with anyone. James, of course, knew quite a bit about Lily's childhood, and she suspected Sirius and Remus had picked up a little over the years. Alice and Mary had known some too, but the two people who really knew about life in the Evans' family were the two people Lily had once been the closest to in the world.

Of course, she hadn't spoken to either Tuney or Sev for years before her death, and she suspected neither of them remembered their childhoods with much happiness.

"I am a lot like Harry," Lily started quietly. Ginny was riveted to her every word. "In some respects. In others, well, my life was nothing like his has been. I grew up knowing my parents loved me and my sister, but our family wasn't like yours, Ginny. The Burrow is crazy and hectic and full of surprises. Ours was too, except my sister and I didn't know from one day to the next if we'd get a full meal that day or if it'd be bits and pieces we had to scrounge up from the pantry. We never starved, understand, but, to our parents, making sure we were well fed wasn't their first thoughts of the day. I'd bet it wasn't even in their top ten." She laughed mirthlessly, but stopped at Ginny's look of horror.

"You don't know how blessed you are, dear." She paused to collect her thoughts again, trying to remember that dingy little house on Baker Street in some town she never knew the name of, and then that rambling, falling down house on Evans Lane, just two blocks from Spinner's End. Lily fought to recall those two years spent in three different flats in Paris and that she could speak Italian fluently because of the four years "studying the classics" in Italy. These weren't memories she like to dwell on.

"Your parents discovered what they loved to do and have done it. Perhaps it means you don't have new things often, but your parents are happy and they've passed that happiness on to their children. Of course, there is the fact that your parents are very sensible people. Mine were not." She went on to describe how her father was always looking for ways to "get rich quick," or the "next big thing," or "trying to find himself." What it really meant was that he was always getting fired or quitting jobs. There were times, even now, that Lily wondered what exactly her father had done to make money, but felt she probably didn't want to know.

Their mother would work occasionally, but was more interested in gossip and celebrities than anything else and was a "homemaker," as ridiculous as that title was for someone who never cleaned, barely kept track of her daughters and couldn't cook. It was lucky that Petunia was so responsible and Lily so self-reliant.

Their parents did care very much for Petunia and Lily, but, unlike the Weasleys, it wasn't a family first sort of care. The girls came to rely solely on each other, though they still vied for their parents' attention.

Then _it_ happened. "We had moved to Evans Lane because Dad said it was lucky. 'A street named after us! That's where we'll make our fortune!' he'd said. The house was huge and Dad had it in his mind that he was going to renovate." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I'm not sure if he even knew what end of a hammer to use!"

Ginny giggled, but then stopped, horror-struck. "It's alright, dear." Lily smiled at her. "My family is quite ridiculous. I laugh about them myself.

"Anyway, there was also a theatre nearby, and Mum fancied herself an actress at that time. She was always dressing up and flouncing out. She did get a few parts, nothing big, mind you, but to hear her tell it, she was the star of the show. It was only a matter of time until she was discovered, she thought. One day she took Tuney and I there, and suddenly I was being thrust into the spotlight. The theatre owner thought I was beautiful and decided I would be perfect as Little Orphan Annie." Lily threw her head back and laughed at the absurdity.

"The only problem is that I hate being the centre of attention. You think Harry gets his flying skills from his father? No way – I'm much better than James!" Ginny was rolling on the ground now; she was laughing so hard. "In fact, your uncle Gideon tried to get me to play Seeker my third year, but I couldn't stand the thought of all those eyes on me!"

Lily shook her head. "That's when Mum got the idea that she'd get her fame by turning me into a child celebrity. I refused, of course, but Tuney didn't mind letting Mum fuss over her. While my sister was getting dressed up and trotted out to any audition Mum could find, I was making a good friend."

Ginny smiled encouragingly. Lily tried to hide the evil little smirk on her face – she was about to shock the poor girl and she was looking forward to it.

"It turned out there was a wizard my age living a couple of streets away. His home life wasn't good. I never asked him how bad it was, but it was very obvious that his father wasn't a kind man. I didn't know I was a witch when we met. He was the one who told me what I was and all about the Wizarding world. Petunia didn't like him. Even then, she struggled with anything that wasn't neat and orderly and didn't fit in her view of normal. I feel sorry for her. All of the upheaval we lived through, the many different places we moved to at a moment's notice, it turned her into someone who needed as much control of a situation as possible. I'm that way too, to some extent. But she was off with Mum a lot of the time, so I was free to play with Severus."

The look on Ginny's face was perfect. Shock and horror mingled. "_Severus?_ As in _Snape?_ Surely there can't be two people with that horrid name!"

"Oh yes, even evil dungeon dwelling bats were once little children." Ginny's face hadn't changed. "It was about that time, also, that I started to realize that everyone wanted something from me. Dad wanted me to cook, since I was the best at the time. Mum was constantly trying to get me to go to auditions with her and Tuney. The other kids at school wanted me to help them with their homework and my sister wanted me to stand up to our parents for her. I clung to Sev because he didn't seem to want anything from me, but friendship.

"When Professor McGonagall came to meet with my parents and they found out I was a witch, it got worse. They wanted me to fix things, constantly. The Trace was a blessing. My mum wanted me to make her famous, my dad wanted me to make him rich and my sister, well, she wanted me to come back and quit all of the magic nonsense. All she heard about while I was at school was how wonderful I was, that I would fix all of their problems once I was of age. When Mum died during my fifth year, my sister asked me to bring her back. It was the only thing she ever asked me to do with magic. Dad died two years later, but by then, my sister had met Vernon and decided that she didn't need magic to fix anything."

Ginny sat quietly for awhile, looking rather thoughtful. "It didn't change when you got to Hogwarts, did it? People wanting something from you?"

"No. Perhaps I have a skewed way of looking at things, but it seemed like that, at the time at least. Sev and I were friends, even though we were in different houses, up until the end of our fifth year. The Marauders bullied him a lot, and most of the time I didn't interfere because he didn't want me to. After our O.W.L.'s one day, James took it too far and I defended Severus. In retaliation, Sev called me a Mudblood."

Ginny gasped.

"It wasn't the name that bothered me as much as you'd think. I wore that name like a badge of honour and was known to throw back some equally nasty insults at the purebloods. Besides, I was good at hexes and really good at using charms in, er, _creative_ ways."

She smirked at Ginny, and the girl gave a wicked grin back.

"Sev had been leading people to believe that we were a couple." She stopped at seeing the look of absolute horror on Ginny's face. "Oh stop. Looks aren't everything, and remember, Sev was my good friend. We were both very good at potions and skilled in spellwork. I wouldn't have been upset if he had asked me. Though, to be honest, I never knew he thought of me that way until that year. I saw him more like a brother, but not so much that I would have been against dating. What made me angry is that he felt I had no say. He was going to "tame" me. All of my attributes: beauty, magical talent, intelligence were spread out and examined among his Death Eater friends like I was a mare for breeding. That, I wouldn't tolerate. Then, he called me a Mudblood. He wanted me to be subservient and a little wife. That wasn't me and I ended our friendship.

"James started to mature the following year. He proved that his views on women were much more progressive. He didn't want a bit of fluff; he wanted a partner." Lily knew her smile was sappy. "And that's when I fell in love with him."

The two red-heads sat quietly for a long while after Lily fell silent. Ginny seemed to be thinking deeply about Lily's life, and Lily was lost in her memories. Finally, Ginny spoke.

"My family is always trying to keep things from me because I'm the youngest. They're always trying to protect me. I thought you were something I had dreamt up and it made me angry that the Lady in my head wouldn't tell me anything. Then I threw Ron into the garden wall..." She trailed off, shuddering. "Tom," she whispered. "Told me things. Anything I asked, he answered. Now, I know he lied to me, but then, I was just happy someone thought I was worthy to be a part of something. He wasn't leaving me out. I should have trusted you."

That was as close to an apology as Lily expected from Ginny and, honestly, it was more of one than Lily would have given if things had been reversed.


	7. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: HP is not mine. This story is for fun, not profit.

A/N: Much thanks to Jenn for the beta work and the encouragement.

A/N2: There are four direct (or nearly direct) movie quotes in this chapter. They come from _Tarzan_, _Aladdin and the Return of Jafar_, _Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl _and _Willow_. There is also a tribute paid to the Wingardium Leviosa scene from _Harry Potter and the Socerer's Stone._ I do not own the rights to any of these either, I just love movie quotes and they worked here.

**Chapter Six**

14 October 1995

"No! No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!"

Lily reached out one hand and attempted to pluck Ginny's wand from her grip. With a snort of exasperation that the young Gryffindor had come to be very familiar with over the last few years, Lily pulled her own ghostly wand out of her robes and conjured up an equally ghostly looking teacup.

"It's Cresco Cruris, not Crestco Curious! The first part has more bearing on the cree. The second word, the emphasis is on the rees. _Cre_sco Cru_ris_!" The older witch made a quick movement of her wrist as she said the spell, causing a purple light to arch out like a rainbow, before it hit the delicate, ethereal teacup. Spindly, but sturdy legs quickly grew and the teacup walked assuredly around the little table.

Ginny sat down on the couch, bemusedly. She was grateful that Harry had discovered the Room of Requirement. It made training with Lily so much easier. Before, the training had taken place almost solely in her dreams. Lily would teach her a couple of spells and Ginny would practice them the next day. That night, Lily would tell her what she did wrong and then several weeks were spent trying to perfect the new spell. Occasionally, Ginny would find a good classroom or a storage room that she could practice in without any fear of discovery. Lily would then be able to join her, her ethereal form pacing up and down the rows of desks while she instructed the younger red-head on spells.

The year following the nightmare that had been Ginny's first year had been focused mainly on strengthening her spellwork and her self-esteem. It had been Lily's gentle guidance (and a little of James's advice) that helped the shy second year make friends and emerge from her shell. The best had been the prompt to befriend Hermione Granger. They shared quite a bit in common. It had also proved to be a wonderful cover for when people asked how Ginny knew a spell that was too advanced for her year.

"I got it from one of Hermione's books," had been all she had to say. Luckily, Lily was almost as much of a bookworm as the bushy-haired witch and made sure to tell Ginny which books the spells could be found in on the off chance that Hermione asked.

The older girl never did, but she did slide books with interesting spells into Ginny's satchel occasionally.

Near the end of her second year, Ginny had begun to learn about defensive spells from Lily. She had already known a few, since that was what Professor Lupin had focused on, but the ones she learned from Lily hadn't been exactly ones you'd find in schoolbooks. Still, they weren't difficult spells.

She hadn't only been disappointed to learn that Professor Lupin was leaving as the end of summer term approached that year. Summer holidays meant no school, but it also meant no magic. Or it had, until James had joined Lily during one dream to celebrate his friends' reunion.

He had explained to her that the Burrow contained so much magic there was no chance the Ministry would discover her. That had just left getting around one Molly Weasley.

"You'll have to be sneaky," he'd warned, an unholy grin lighting up his face.

"Sneaky? I can do...sneaky."

Lily had rolled her eyes at the pair of them, but seemed perfectly happy to allow Ginny to break a few rules.

"What's breaking a few laws compared to helping our little boy win?"

Ginny had wanted to tell the older witch that, at nearly fourteen, Harry wasn't so little anymore.

So the summer had been spent sneaking around the Burrow to find suitable places to practice. They did have to stop meeting while Ginny was conscious, however. While the girl was very skilled at sneaking, there had always been a chance she _could_ get caught. It would have been bad, really, REALLY bad to be caught learning advanced magic from a ghostly-spirit-like being who just happened to be Harry Potter's dead mother.

It had been a wise decision too, because she did get caught. Not by her mother (thank goodness), not by the twins (no need to give them blackmail material) and not even by Ron (who had been in a bit of a foul mood lately). Bill had caught her two days before the Quidditch World Cup. After gently reprimanding her, Ginny's oldest brother had given her his own lessons. He had been convinced she was practicing so that she'd never be attacked like she had been in her first year. The red-head had felt bad about lying to him, but there was no way she was going to admit that it was to help Harry. She couldn't have withstood the teasing.

The Quidditch World Cup had driven home the point that this wasn't a child's game. She was really going to fight. With that motivation, Ginny had thrown herself into learning the defensive spells and was soon onto offensive spells. She excelled at them. Her Stunner was a thing of beauty and hexes were a specialty.

Her determination was so intense that Lily Potter, the woman who thought night flying was a waste of time, had told her to slow down and have some fun. Ginny had tried to, she really did, but then Harry's name had come out of the Goblet and she had overheard him telling Hermione later that he thought someone was trying to kill him.

After she had decimated dungeon number forty-six (no one ever went that far down, even the Slytherins), Ginny had realized Lily was right. Practicing was good, it was necessary, but she couldn't forget to live either. When Neville had asked her to the Yule Ball, she had accepted immediately, a bubble of happiness swelling up inside of her.

When Ron had suggested Harry take Ginny, she'd been heartbroken and the bubble had popped. James had been waiting with Lily in Ginny's dreams that night.

"He'll see you, I swear! One day he's going to get smacked in the face with how pretty you are and he's going to regret not spending every waking moment with you!" James had ranted and raved, calling his son some rather crude names, but it had been Lily that sat and hugged Ginny while the tears had streamed down the girl's face.

"_He's_ not worthy, yet, dear. He's brave and funny and rather handsome. But then, I'm his mother, so I suspect I'm a little biased." Lily had smiled when Ginny let out a giggle. James had still been ranting in the background. "Harry may be more like me than like James. I certainly didn't know what was in front of me. But on the other hand, James wasn't worthy of me for several years. At this age, girls are just friends to some boys and to others, well, those are the ones who _really_ aren't worthy. Some are getting there and some will take years. Don't wait for him, Ginny. It's perfectly acceptable to date a few boys. It'll help you learn what sort of person you'll eventually want to spend your life with."

Lily had stood, stretching in a way that meant she was preparing to leave Ginny's mind. "Besides, he's so focused on that silly girl, Cho, he'd probably be a wretched date anyway."

Truer words had never been spoken and Ginny had been exceedingly grateful to have attended with Neville, bruised toes and all.

The spring term had brought on double lessons. James had been getting bored (Sirius and Remus both wanted to speak with him, but it was difficult being the dead friend), so he had begun teaching Ginny Transfiguration, while Lily was teaching her Potions tricks. Both McGonagall and Snape had been impressed (McGonagall had awarded her points and Snape had sneered, "Well it isn't as much of a failure as I had expected."), but all the while Ginny could feel that something was about to happen.

When it had – in the most horrible way – Ginny had had to find a place to quietly breakdown alone. "Why didn't you tell me it would happen so soon?" she sobbed as she felt a wispy hand attempt to rub her back. "I thought it'd be when we were adults! I'm not…I'm not ready! And neither is Harry!" She had stood to glare at Lily, only to find it wasn't Lily at all, but a girl her own age standing in front of her. Ginny had gasped, jumping back in fear.

"No, but you will be. Both of you will be. So will your family and your friends. When the time comes, you will all know what to do and will do it well. I have Seen, and what I have Seen in you is good." As the girl had disappeared, Ginny could see Lily appearing just behind where she had been.

The older witch had been in a panic. "Harry? Is he alright? I didn't see him on the other side, but he could have gone on! Where is he? Why was our guide here? She never leaves, never…"

But Ginny had silenced her with a look. She had been burning with so much determination that she had felt like her eyes were blazing with it. "Harry's fine. He's resting. It's time for me to learn your Charms."

Charms, as taught by Lily Potter, was some of the most difficult magic Ginny could ever imagine. It was enchantments and spells, weaving in and out to create new outcomes at every turn. It was using a simple charm in a complex manner. It was using the mundane to be ruthless and the horrifying to cure, which is why the Room of Requirement was invaluable. Try as she might, Ginny had made little progress by learning from Lily through the dreams and then practicing on her own. She got comfortable on the couch and waited for the inevitable lecture.

"There are really only two rules in magic," Lily began. "What one can do and what one can't do. For instance, I can turn you into a rabbit and then you'll be less of a nuisance. But I can't make sure that you stay a rabbit or that I can keep the human person inside of the rabbit healthy. Now that you know the rules of magic, you need to remember that alone and then forget all you know, or think you know. All that you require is your intuition."

She turned suddenly and pointed to the delicate teacup Ginny had been trying to animate for the past hour. "How can a teacup with legs help you in a duel?"

Ginny suppressed her first two urges (rolling her eyes and yelling out, "It can't, you prat!"), and instead tried to see the potential in a fight.

"Well," she said slowly. "You control where the teacup goes. It could…it could throw itself at someone. The pieces would hurt if it broke!" The Gryffindor was beginning to get excited now. "Or throw hot tea into someone's face!" The image of Draco Malfoy's teacup dousing him with scalding hot tea was a nice picture for a moment before hundreds of other ideas began to form. This must be what it was like to be the twins – if you didn't play by the rules, so many possibilities opened up for you.

"Exactly." Lily's smirk would have been frightening if she hadn't been on Ginny's side.

"Now. Let's really begin your education."


End file.
